(Dec 3): OpenAI chief executive officer Sam Altman is redirecting internal resources to speed up improvements to ChatGPT, declaring a “code red” situation that will delay work on other initiatives, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Altman on Monday sent an internal memo calling for a “surge” to improve ChatGPT, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing nonpublic information. Altman also called for staffers to delay progress on other efforts such as autonomous AI agents and advertising, the Information reported initially, citing the memo. While Altman didn’t say exactly what fixes needed to be prioritised and why, the Information said he had recently warned employees that Google’s AI resurgence could cause temporary economic headwinds for OpenAI.
The report underscores how intense the rivalry among major AI developers has become as the entire industry works to convince Wall Street that the billions of dollars they’ve invested in the technology will turn a profit. Alphabet Inc’s Google released the AI model Gemini 3 last month that gained almost immediate praise for its capacity to reason and code, as well as to perform niche tasks that have tripped up AI chatbots. OpenAI meanwhile took Google head-on in October by unveiling its first AI-powered web browser.
OpenAI declined to comment on the news of Altman’s memo. Nick Turley, OpenAI’s head of ChatGPT, reinforced the prioritisation of the chatbot in an X post late Monday, saying the company’s focus is now “to keep making ChatGPT more capable, continue growing, and expand access around the world — while making it feel even more intuitive and personal”.
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